Industrial Solar in Noida: NPCL Tariffs, Net Billing & ROI (2026)

Direct Answer: What Does Rooftop Solar Look Like for a Noida Factory in 2026?

Favourable — with one thing to get right first: Noida city is served by NPCL (Noida Power Company Limited), a private licensee, not by UPPCL/PVVNL. A Noida industrial consumer pays NPCL's FY 2026-27 HT (HV-2) schedule — roughly ₹7.10/kVAh energy plus ₹300/kVA/month demand at 11 kV, before NPCL's standing 10% regulatory discount on fixed and energy charges. That discount makes Noida one of the cheaper NCR industrial tariffs, which is precisely why the solar case here depends on self-consumption, not export.

And there is no kilowatt-for-kilowatt net metering for industry in Uttar Pradesh: commercial and industrial consumers are placed on net billing / net feed-in, capped at 2 MWp per premises, with surplus settled at the Solar Injection Compensation rate. Size the plant to your daytime load and the economics are strong — typically 3.5–4.5 year payback.

Tariff and regulatory status last checked: 18 August 2026.

First, Confirm Your Discom — NPCL vs PVVNL

This trips up even seasoned buyers, so get it right before anything else:

Noida city (the core industrial sectors) and Greater Noida → NPCL (Noida Power Company Limited), a private UPERC-regulated licensee — a JV of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (CESC) and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority.
Ghaziabad and the non-Noida parts of Gautam Buddha Nagar district → PVVNL (a UPPCL subsidiary).

NPCL has its own separate UPERC tariff order and its own rooftop application process. Everything below is the NPCL position. If your site is actually in PVVNL territory, our UPPCL / UPERC net billing guide applies instead.

NPCL's FY 2026-27 Industrial Tariff — and the 10% Discount

UPERC held tariffs flat for the seventh straight year in its July 2026 order. Structurally, UPERC approves the same base rate schedule for NPCL as for the state discoms, then applies NPCL's 10% regulatory discount on the fixed/demand and energy charges (the discount does not apply to the optional green-energy tariff). The FY 2026-27 base figures relevant to industry, before the 10% discount:

Category	Demand / fixed charge	Energy charge
HV-2 Large & Heavy Power (industrial ≥75 kW)	₹300/kVA/mo (≤11 kV) · ₹290 (11–66 kV) · ₹270 (66–132 kV)	₹7.10 / ₹6.80 / ₹6.40 / ₹6.10 per kVAh (voltage-graded)
HV-1 Non-Industrial Bulk (commercial ≥75 kW)	₹430/kVA/mo (11 kV) · ₹400 (>11 kV)	₹8.32 / ₹8.12 per kVAh
LMV-6 Small & Medium Power	₹290/kW/month	₹7.30 / kWh

After the 10% discount and before duties/surcharges, a mid-size Noida factory's effective landed cost is roughly ₹7.3–8.0/unit (an estimate — the exact figure depends on load factor and voltage). NPCL's approved Average Billing Rates for FY 2026-27 are HV-2 ₹7.97 and LMV-6 ₹9.02/unit. Tariffs, ToD and the discount are reviewed each year — NPCL has appeals pending at APTEL — so verify the current schedule before modelling.

Net Billing, Not Net Metering — the C&I Rule That Drives Design

Uttar Pradesh's UPERC RSPV Regulations, 2019 govern rooftop solar in NPCL territory, and NPCL's own tariff order is explicit: industrial and commercial consumers are not eligible for net metering — they can opt for net billing / net feed-in. Net metering (kWh-for-kWh) is reserved for domestic (LMV-1) and agriculture (LMV-5) consumers.

What that means in practice:

Imports are billed at your full retail tariff; exports are settled at a separate, lower feed-in rate — the Solar Injection Compensation (the weighted-average tariff of ≥5 MW competitively-bid solar from the previous FY, plus a 25% incentive).
Capacity cap: up to 100% of your contract demand, subject to a hard ceiling of 2 MWp per premises (one of the more generous caps in India).
Because export earns a fraction of the retail rate, oversizing for export destroys returns — size to self-consumption.

Noida's Industrial Clusters and Rooftop Potential

Noida's industrial load is concentrated in Sectors 62, 63 and 80 (electronics, IT/ITeS, printing, light engineering), with growth along Noida Extension and the YEIDA belt. The region is a declared electronics manufacturing zone and a major data-centre corridor — Mercom projects UP's solar open-access demand to roughly double in three years on the back of Noida/Greater Noida data centres. A typical Noida facility with 2,500–25,000 sq m of usable rooftop maps to roughly 250 kW–2.5 MW of solar potential (an industry estimate, not a regulatory figure).

For the larger of these loads — data centres, IT parks, logistics — behind-the-meter rooftop often isn't enough, and the answer is open-access or group-captive solar under the Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022, which allow any consumer of 100 kW and above (and captive consumers with no minimum) to buy renewable power across the grid. See the UP open-access charges guide and our solar EPC in Uttar Pradesh overview.

What ROI Should a Noida Factory Expect?

Plant size	Indicative capex	Payback	25-yr IRR (capex)
250 kW	₹90 lakh – ₹1.05 Cr	~4.2–4.8 yrs	~19–21%
500 kW	₹1.8 – ₹2.1 Cr	~3.8–4.3 yrs	~21–23%
1 MW	₹3.5 – ₹3.95 Cr	~3.5–4.2 yrs	~22–25%

Rooftop potential above 2 MW moves to open access. Ranges are illustrative — the real number depends on load factor, self-consumption ratio and the AD vs 115BAA tax choice. Model it with our solar ROI methodology and pressure-test the quote with our EPC quote checklist. As an NCR-headquartered developer, we serve Noida/Greater Noida with the same crews as our Faridabad-NCR and Greater Noida work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which discom serves Noida — NPCL or PVVNL?

Noida city and Greater Noida are served by NPCL (Noida Power Company Limited), a private licensee. Ghaziabad and the rest of Gautam Buddha Nagar district are served by PVVNL (a UPPCL subsidiary). Check your electricity bill to confirm.

What is the NPCL industrial tariff in FY 2026-27?

HV-2 large & heavy power is roughly ₹7.10/kVAh energy plus ₹300/kVA/month demand at 11 kV, before NPCL's 10% regulatory discount on fixed and energy charges. Tariffs were held flat for the seventh straight year.

Can a Noida factory get net metering?

No — under UPERC's RSPV Regulations 2019, industrial and commercial consumers are placed on net billing / net feed-in, not kWh net metering. Exports are settled at the Solar Injection Compensation rate.

What is the rooftop solar capacity limit in Noida?

2 MWp per premises (and up to 100% of contract demand) under the UP framework. Above 2 MW, projects move to open access or captive structures.

Does NPCL give a discount on electricity?

Yes — NPCL consumers receive a 10% regulatory discount on fixed/demand and energy charges (not applicable to the optional green-energy tariff). It is reviewed annually by UPERC.

What payback can a Noida factory expect from rooftop solar?

Typically 3.5–4.5 years and low-twenties IRRs on a capex basis, driven by self-consumption against a ~₹7.3–8/unit effective tariff.